


Deserved Happiness

by bokuakabeam



Series: BokuAka Week 2020 [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25632478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokuakabeam/pseuds/bokuakabeam
Summary: And yet, Koutarou was definitely an idiot. Because amidst everything he had going on at work and at home, he had the audacity to fall head over heels for his neighbor, of all people — as if he really had time for something like that.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Series: BokuAka Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1856998
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41





	Deserved Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> BokuAka Week 2020 Day Four -- Neighbor AU

Koutarou was an idiot, that much was for certain. He knew that. Whatever deity that had created him had apparently fucked off when it came to giving him a brain. Just decided, ‘Ah, nope. Done for the day. This guy can just be a meathead.’

In school he wasn’t so bad. He wasn’t the best student in high school and college, by far, but he definitely could be worse. Subpar grades and an excellent rapport with his teachers and peers provided an overall satisfactory educational experience for Koutarou. Luckily for him, a business degree opened up several job opportunities with chances for advancements down the road, so Koutarou entered the world of spreadsheets and cubicles. Turns out, Koutarou was excellent at marketing and sales, and he very quickly climbed the ladder at Betatech — a company that specialized in the manufacture and export of computer chips and the like. (Koutarou was skilled in advertising for them, not that he knew anything about the technical specs.) Fast forward to now, and he was running the marketing department. And while the stresses and responsibilities of such a prestigious career sometimes got to him, Koutarou remembered never to bring that home once the workday was over.

Because at home, he had a whole other slew of responsibilities that begged his attention.

When Koutarou was first starting out at Betatech, the Bokuto family was hit with somewhat of a tragedy — some could call it a blessing, but Koutarou’s parents treated it like the end of the world. Koutarou’s younger sister, Yui, was pregnant. She was young (like, still in high school young) and scared, and her boyfriend vanished the second those two pink lines showed up. And for months, their family was in disarray; Koutarou’s mother was caring for Yui and trying to find the best alternative for the child, while Koutarou’s father was desperately trying to salvage their family’s image. The Bokuto’s were always seen as upstanding members of their community, what with Koutarou’s father being a successful defense lawyer and his mother being a pillar in the city council. The pregnancy came at an opportune time — as opportune as an unplanned pregnancy could come, rather — as summer break was rapidly approaching, and Yui wouldn’t begin showing until then.

Koutarou, being as empathetic a person as he was, had a difficult time seeing his family like this. His mother was always in tears, crying about how she and Koutarou’s father were too old to raise a brand new child. Yui was struggling with keeping her pregnancy hidden from everyone at school while it was still in session, but would fall apart once she came home. His father would act as if nothing was wrong, but behind closed doors he was evasive and aloof, refusing meals and becoming more and more distant with the rest of the family. Koutarou hated it. Their family used to be so close, and for something like this to break them apart so desolately was just heartbreaking to see. And for some reason, ever since he felt the little tap against his sister’s ever-growing stomach, Koutarou’s heart clenched for that unborn baby. His niece or nephew. His blood.   
  
And Koutarou knew what he wanted to do.

It wasn’t something that was easy to convince his parents of, and even his sister was skeptical about pulling it off. But Koutarou had planned for nearly two months, and Yui was expected to deliver soon, so if they were going to do something about this, they needed to do it now. His father agreed the quickest, urgent in his quest to save his own reputation — Koutarou could see how selfish that was, but he didn’t care. It was his family, for God’s sake. His sister was next to agree, silently stroking her stomach as she came to terms with what was going to be expected of her in the coming months. Koutarou’s mother was last, but finally she agreed to his plan, despondent at the fact that her son’s life was about to change dramatically all in the name of his family.

Within the next month, Yui gave birth (thankfully over break from school), and the Bokuto family began spreading the news. Koutarou had had a one night stand several months prior, and had gotten a girl pregnant. As soon as the girl delivered, she dropped the child off with Koutarou, saying that she couldn’t provide for it as well as he mostly likely could. And that was that. While it definitely wasn’t the most ideal stories to spread, and it did have somewhat of an impact on the family name, it was something they could come back from.

And that left Koutarou at twenty-three years old, just starting out at an up-and-coming technology company, and the father of a newborn son. He knew that it was going to be hard, there was no way it wouldn’t be. But just seeing the child there in the nursery at the hospital, cooing and squirming in the cot, Koutarou could feel that this was how it was supposed to be. It may have been an unexpected and unwanted situation, but he could never for a split second find it in his heart to want anything but that child in his arms. To his surprise, Yui had given Koutarou naming rights, and he was eager to announce that his name was to be Hiroaki Bokuto. His son, Hiroaki.

Koutarou and Hiroaki — Hiro, for short — struggled at first, as many new parents do. Koutarou juggled work with caring for Hiro, although he did have to fall back onto his family for help more than once. He didn’t have nearly enough money saved up to take an extended leave from work, and his budget hadn’t originally accounted for daycare, so his mother took on the role of nanny three days a week. Koutarou had had a long conversation with his boss at the time, begging her for help in either giving him more flexible hours, or giving him an option to work from home. Luckily, Saeko was as cool of a boss as they came, and she worked with Koutarou in working out of his small apartment half the time, so he could watch Hiro and give his mother a much-deserved break. For years, Koutarou balanced his work life and his home life, and they fell into a steady rhythm. Hiro became old enough to attend daycare (and it was something that Koutarou began working into his budget) and it became infinitely easier.

Once Hiro started kindergarten and Koutarou had been promoted to a manager, he could feel the chips of his life start falling into place. He was exhausted, sure, but it was getting easier. He was steadily gaining experience in his field and was earning enough money to give Hiro the life he truly deserved. Which leads them to present-day in their new home, a cute house tucked away in a small neighborhood, hardly five minutes from Hiro’s elementary school. It was the picture-perfect place for Koutarou to raise his son; the grass in all the yards were always lush and green, there was a park adjacent to the opening of the neighborhood, and all of the neighbors welcomed them to their alcove with open arms (and cookies and casseroles, which Koutarou was absolutely stoked about.)

So everything was falling into place. His parents were happy, his sister was thriving as a soon-to-be graduate in college, and Hiro was steadily making friends in his new kindergarten class. Koutarou hardly had time for himself since he was always either working or at home with Hiro, but he had a couple friends that had stuck by his side through everything. Tetsurou and Kenma, friends from college, and Kei, a friend he’d made at Betatech.

And yet, Koutarou was definitely an idiot. Because amidst everything he had going on at work and at home, he had the audacity to fall head over heels for his neighbor, of all people — as if he really had time for something like that.

————

“C’mon Kou, you gotta give in sometime.”

“Never.” Koutarou glared at Tetsurou from across the dining room table, clenching and unclenching the fist in his lap.

“You two have been fighting for, like, half an hour now,” Kenma spoke up from beside Tetsurou, his eyes glancing up from his phone before darting back down.

“Can we just agree to disagree and move on?” Kei exhaled, his face the epitome of boredom as he propped his cheek on his hand. “Tetsu thinks you’re lying, Kou is adamant that he’s not, so—“

“He’s such a _fucking_ liar!” Tetsurou shouted, bouncing in his chair as his glare never wavered from Koutarou’s face.

“I am _not_! I told you, bro, go fish!”

“Kou, the only way you don’t have a two is if you shoved it up your ass.”

“What your language,” Kenma warned, and the four men turned towards the opening of the dining room, a small figure padding in from the shadows.

“Hey, bud. Did we wake you up?” Koutarou stood, placing his cards facedown on the table before walking over to a sleepy Hiro, who was rubbing his eyes.

“Is Kei here?” Hiro chirped, trying to peek around Koutarou’s body at the dining room table. “Kei!”

“Hey Hiro!” Kei smiled warmly, waving a hand lazily in the boy’s direction. “What are you doing up? Did mean ol’ Tetsu wake you?”

“Hey!” Tetsurou complained, puffing his cheeks and pouting. “‘M not mean.”

“No, I had a nightmare.”

The rest of the men swarmed around the boy now, all with varying looks of concern on their faces.

“Are you okay?” Koutarou asked, sweeping the boy up into his arms and giving him a tight hug. He could feel his friends’ hands on Hiro’s back and in his hair, and he couldn’t help but smile at how lucky he was to have such a support team backing him up.

“Yeah,” he whimpered, rubbing at his eyes again, and Koutarou could tell that he was trying to stop himself from crying. “It was just scary. There was a buncha monsters.”

“Oh! Oh my gosh, Hiro! I have just the thing!” Kenma straightened up and rushed over to his bag, digging around until he found… Something. Koutarou couldn’t read the label, but it looked like it was some kind of air freshener spray. “I just so happened to bring my monster spray with me!”

Hiro’s eyes shined even in the dim light of the dining room, and he looked at Kenma in awe. “You have monster spray?!”

“Mhm,” Kenma nodded, and he shot an amused glance at Koutarou. “I used to have monsters in my room at night too, so I made this! It scares the monsters away as soon as they smell it. Do you wanna use it in your room?”

Hiro nodded fiercely, and he made grabby hands at Kenma until the man scooped him out of Koutarou’s arms. They disappeared deeper into the house, flipping the lights on as they walked back towards Hiro’s room, having a quiet conversation about the directions on the monster spray.

“What was that, your Axe body spray?” Kei teased, earning a huff from Tetsurou.

“ _No_ , Kei,” Tetsurou said dramatically, before he added in a mumble, “I think it’s Noir from Bath and Bodyworks.”

“Pfft,” Kei laughed through his teeth, and he and Tetsurou began arguing over various products, and whether or not they used them.

“Oh, hey Kou,” Tetsurou tilted his head to the side, effectively shutting Kei up mid-sentence as he drew Koutarou back to their conversation. “We’re having a mixer thing at my work this Friday, you wanna come?”

“Ah, I don’t think I can. Thanks anyway, bro.” Koutarou smiled slightly, moving around the room and collecting their empty glasses and plates, careful not to disturb the cards haphazardly placed all over the table.

“Kou,” he whined, leaning back in his chair and shooting his best friend a glare. “When was the last time you took some time for yourself?”

“What do you mean? What do you think tonight was?” Koutarou gestured between them. It was their regular Sunday night tradition, started by Koutarou nearly three years ago. It had started with just the three of them — Koutarou, Tetsurou, and Kenma — but had included Kei for over a year now that he and Koutarou were closer friends. It was something Koutarou had come to rely on and look forward to with each passing week.

“Tonight is not taking time for yourself. It’s eating a shitload of Doritos and cheating at Go Fish.”

“I was _not_ —“

“Listen, Kou. I’m serious. Ever since you turned eighteen, you have not taken even a second of time for yourself. You spent all four years of university studying your ass off, you got a job right off the bat, and now you have Hiro. You gotta look after yourself too, you know?”

“It’s not like I’m not taking care of myself, Tetsurou,” Koutarou frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. He didn’t like the insinuation that he was doing something wrong. “And I kinda have a lot on my plate, in case you haven’t noticed.

“I know, that’s why I was just suggesting—“

“Well take your suggestions elsewhere, Tetsurou, I don’t wanna hear it.” Koutarou snapped, quickly finishing gathering the plates and stalking into the kitchen. He angrily began washing the dishes and mumbling to himself, the glass clattering and clinking against the sink with every jerky move he made.

“Need some help?” Kei sauntered in behind him, already scrunching up his sleeves. He hip-checked Koutarou and began drying the dishes as Koutarou washed them, and they stood like that in a comfortable silence for several minutes.

“He’s right, you know,” Kei mumbled, keeping his gaze trained on the plate he was currently wiping dry. Koutarou leaned, his hip propped against the counter, as he watched his friend.

“I know he is, but I hate admitting that to the bastard. He’s _always_ right, and I _did_ have a two.”

Kei’s lips quirked into a lopsided grin and he looked over his shoulder at Koutarou. “You could get out there, meet people. Maybe meet a special person—“

“Yeah,” Koutarou scoffed, rolling his eyes. “If I hardly have time to drink cheap beer with you three once a week, when would I find the time to meet somebody? Especially somebody willing to put up with me?”

“Koutarou,” Kei admonished, and he could sense a lecture coming.

“I’m kidding, Kei. I know I’m a catch. I’ll think about it, honestly.”

Another half hour passed before the three visitors were leaving. Kenma had successfully rid Hiro’s room of all the offending monsters, and tucked the boy back in, lulled to sleep with a newfound sense of safety. Tetsurou and Koutarou made up, just as they always do, with an overbearing hug and a few jabs to each other’s sides. The three took turns thanking Koutarou for the hospitality as they left, and Koutarou walked them out to their cars. Just as they were about to part ways, they heard a shout.

“Excuse me!” A man darted towards the four standing in Koutarou’s driveway, his hair disheveled and his eyes wide in panic. “Sorry to intrude. Have any of you seen a cat around here? She’s a tabby, and she’s a sneaky little asshole that figured out how to open fuckin’ doors apparently.”

It took a moment for what the man said to sink in, and Koutarou snorted out his nose. “Man, that sounds like a sneaky kitty. I’ll help you look for her, if you’d like?”

“Really?” The man breathed out in relief, as if Koutarou had saved his life. “Thank you, thank you!”

“We’ll help too, dude,” Tetsurou added, already walking towards the street with his phone light on.

They spent the next few minutes searching around the cul-de-sac, calling out for the cat to no avail. Just as Koutarou was about to give in, he felt a light caress against his ankle.

“There you are,” he mumbled, slowly sinking into a crouch and extending a hand for the cat to sniff. It was a beautiful cat, really. After the cat got comfortable enough to nuzzle up to Koutarou, he carefully scooped her up, scratching behind her ear.

“I found her,” he hollered, alerting the others in the area.

“Oh, thank goodness! She’d never been outside before, I was so worried about her!” Her owner came jogging up to Koutarou, stopping a short distance away to take in the scene before him. “Wow, she’s not even that snuggly with me. You have catnip up your ass or something?”

Koutarou leaned his head back slightly and laughed before shaking his head. “Nah, I’ve just always been real good with animals.”

“Well I might have to hire you as a cat trainer or a sitter or _something_ because Meowly Cyrus is driving me up the goddamn wall—“

“Wh... What?” Koutarou interrupted, and even in the dark of the night, he could see the light blush that dusted the man’s cheeks.

“Oh. That’s uh. That’s her name. Meowly Cyrus.”

“That’s the best fuckin’ name I’ve ever heard!” Tetsurou had come up behind the man, followed by a giggling Kenma and an amused-looking Kei. “Where have you been all my life? I’ve just been naming my cats normal names, like Whiskers, or Greg.”

“Ah, Greg was awesome. He always found frogs for me,” Koutarou reminisced, carefully transferring Meowly Cyrus into her owner’s arms.

“Do you have any other pets?” Kei asked the stranger, earning a short nod in response.

“Two more cats.”

“Any chance they’re also named after female pop stars?” Koutarou grinned as, once again, the man’s face reddened.

“ _No_... Only one of them. I have Meowly Cyrus, Katy Purry, and Neil Catrick Harris.” He puffed his cheeks with a pout as the four men around him laughed. “I thought they were clever!”

“They are! They are,” Koutarou calmed his laughter, rubbing at an eye. “Ah, I should get back inside in case Hiro wakes up. Tetsu, Kenma: see you guys next week. Kei, see you at work tomorrow. And, uh... I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh! Sorry I enlisted you in searching for my cat and didn’t even— I’m Keiji,” he rambled, and Koutarou noticed that he kept fidgeting where he stood.

“Nice to meet you, Keiji. I’m Koutarou. And that’s Tetsurou, Kenma, and Kei, my friends,” he introduced each of them with a gesture of his hand. “And I live right here, but I guess you knew that.”

“Oh! Yeah, I’ve seen you come and go occasionally. You have that cute little boy, right?”

“Mhm!” Koutarou nodded with a bright smile. “Hiroaki. He’s five.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you guys going for walks, I think. I live next door,” Keiji says, gesturing to the house directly next to Koutarou’s. “Sorry I’ve never formally introduced myself before. I know the neighborhood association normally gets together to welcome new homeowners, but my schedule’s been a bit tight lately.”

Koutarou waved him off. “Don’t worry about it! I’m just glad we met now.”

“Ah, well... It’s late, and I have work in the morning, so I should be off. But, uh, Koutarou?” Keiji seemed to have an internal struggle with himself as he continued. “I, uh... I’d like to thank you for finding my cat. Would it be okay to see you again sometime? I could cook you dinner, or we could go out for drinks...”

“Sure, Keiji, that sounds really nice,” Koutarou smiled warmly, and when Keiji smiles back he felt an odd clenching in his chest.

“Alright good. I’ll, uh... I’ll swing by sometime soon to plan something out, okay?” And with that, and a brief nod to the rest of the group, Keiji returned home, and Koutarou couldn’t take his eyes off the retreating form.

“Wow, I’m surprised you two kept your clothes on,” Kei teased, sidling up to Koutarou.

“What! What are you talking about?”

“I could cut the sexual tension with a knife,” Tetsurou continued where Kei left off, fanning his face dramatically. “Oh, Koutarou, come help me name my fourth cat!” He raised his voice into a high pitch, nowhere near what Keiji’s voice sounded like.

“Oh, shut up you two. He was just being nice.” Koutarou crossed his arms childishly over his chest, trying to give his best glare to his friends. “Now go away. I’m tired.”

————

It wasn’t until two days later, on a Tuesday afternoon, that he saw Keiji again. He’d had a half day today, meaning he could pick Hiro up directly after school instead of from the after-school daycare. It also gave him a chance to get some grocery shopping done — their cupboards were dreadfully bare, and he needed to make sure Hiro got a balanced diet. Hiro had run inside to color and Koutarou was unloading the groceries from the trunk of his car when he heard his name being called.

“Koutarou! Hey,” Keiji was waving from his front porch, catching Koutarou’s attention. Koutarou’s brain seemed to short-circuit, seeing Keiji in an oversized sweater and black leggings, jog over towards him.

“Oh! Keiji, hey,” Koutarou shook his head slightly to clear his mind, giving his neighbor a friendly smile.

“Need help?” Keiji tilted his head, already outstretching his arms to grab some of the bags.

“Oh, you don’t need to—“

“I want to,” he smiled, loading up his arms with bags and waiting to follow Koutarou inside.

“I forgot to ask the other day, Koutarou,” Keiji continued, following Koutarou into the kitchen and setting the bags on the breakfast table. “What do you do for work?”

“I work at Betatech in the marketing department,” Koutarou answered as be bustled around the kitchen, putting away the cold products first.

“Really?” Keiji handed Koutarou groceries as he pulled them from the bags, his eyes shining. “That’s really cool! That’s a big company, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Koutarou rubbed at the back of his neck bashfully. “I’ve been working there since I graduated college, so I was there when it kinda first started.”

“Wow, that’s really impressive.”

“Nah. Hey, hey, what do you do, Keiji?” Koutarou took the carton of eggs from the man, bending down to stick them into the fridge before straightening up and turning, giving him his full attention.

“Ah, well—“

“Daddy, I— Oh, hey Mr. ‘Kaashi.” Hiro bounded into the kitchen, hands full of markers, before his eyes landed on Keiji. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Hiro!” Keiji grinned down at the boy, gesturing towards the groceries. “I was just helping your dad put away your groceries. I actually live next door to you!”

“Really?!” Hiro looked incredulously between Keiji and Koutarou with a wide grin. “That’s _so cool_!”

“Mr. ‘Kaashi?” Koutarou finally asked, the thoughts aligning in his head.

“Yeah, I’m the art teacher at the elementary school. And it’s _Akaashi_ , but some of the students can’t say my name fully, which is fine,” Keiji smiled, his turn to act embarrassed. “I have Hiro in one of my classes, although I hadn’t put two and two together until yesterday.”

“Mhm!” Hiro nodded fiercely, adjusting his grip on the markers. “Today, Mr. Akaashi let us do finger painting! It was awesome! I went _fwoosh_ and then _bam_! And I painted a tree, and our house, and—“

“That’s awesome, buddy,” Koutarou interjected, listening as Hiro continued to ramble about their art class.

“Oh! Daddy! I wanted to ask if I could have a juice box and color in the backyard?” Hiro seemed to suddenly remember why he’d darted out there in the first place, and he focused all his attention on Koutarou.

“Sure, just make sure to wear a jacket, it’s a little chilly outside, okay? I’ll be out in a minute with your juice.”

“Bye, Mr. ‘Kaashi!” Hiro shouted as he ran back into his room, assumedly to gather his things for the backyard.

“He’s a really great kid, you should be proud,” Keiji spoke softly as soon as the boy was out of earshot. “He’s always so kind to everyone in class, and he helps me clean up at the end of the day.”

“Yeah, he’s been pretty easy actually,” Koutarou chuckled, rubbing at his arms. “When he was a baby, he’d only cry when he was hungry. Other than that, he was just a happy-go-lucky kid. I really hit the jackpot with that.”

Koutarou was too busy adjusting the cereal in the pantry to see the admiration in Keiji’s eyes as he took in Koutarou’s form. His gaze averted as soon as Koutarou returned his attention to Keiji with a tired smile.

“You really didn’t have to help me unload my groceries, Keiji,” Koutarou admonished teasingly, plopping down at the kitchen table, gesturing for Keiji to do the same. He hadn’t realized how domestic that whole situation seemed, with the two easily talking and putting away groceries.

“Ah, I didn’t mind. Besides, I practically barged my way in, so it wasn’t like you had a say in the matter anyway.” Koutarou grinned at the twinkle in Keiji’s eye, and the art teacher continued. “Anyway, I actually came over for a reason. I wanted to discuss thanking you for helping me find my cat the other night.”

“Yeah,” Koutarou drawled, leaning back in his chair. “Meowly Cyrus. How is she doing?”

“Oh, you know. She’s fine. I’ve had to triple-check every morning and every evening to ensure all my doors are locked, but other than that? Easy breezy.”

“You really don’t have to do anything to thank me, Keiji,” Koutarou insisted, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table. “I’m sure you would have done the same if the situation were reversed.

“Well… Yes, I would, but I still would like to do something for you. Like I said before, we can go out for dinner or drinks — my treat, of course — or I was thinking, if you were interested, I actually host a book club once a month. It’s just me and a couple of my friends, and all we do is talk shit about books and trashy television shows, but there’s usually wine and a guarantee that at _least_ one person will do something drunkenly embarrassing. It’s quite fun.”

Koutarou snorted and cocked his head to the side. “What book?”

“This month we read _The Scarlet Letter_.”

“Ah. _‘We dream in our waking moments, and walk in our sleep.’_ ” Koutarou hummed, earning a bewildered look from Keiji. “Sorry, I have, like, a weird memory. I remember weird, obscure quotes, but I can’t for the life of me remember the names of anyone in the Beatles.”

Keiji let out a full-body laugh at that, and Koutarou was mystified at the way his head leaned back and exposed his neck, his eyes closing and crinkling at the sides, and his lips stretching over perfectly-white teeth. The peals of laughter was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard, like a wind chime twinkling in the wind, spellbinding.

“So I take it you’ve read it, then?” Keiji asked once he’d calmed down, crossing a knee over the other.

“Mhm,” Koutarou nodded in the affirmative, nibbling at his lip. “When does the bookclub meet?”

“We actually have a meeting tomorrow night at six, if you’re interested. We’d love to have you. I know getting a babysitter can be tricky, and I would say Hiro could come, but like I said, there’s drinking, and—“

“I’ll be there,” Koutarou interrupted with a nod. “I’ll figure it out. Six o’clock, on the dot, I’ll be there. Do I need to bring anything?”

Keiji stood from the table with a wide grin, adjusting his shirt. “Nope. Just bring you and your weird memory.” He shot an indecipherable look at Koutarou before making his way to the front door. However, before he exited, he leaned his body back into the entryway of the kitchen, catching Koutarou’s attention once more. “Oh, and Koutarou?”

“Hm?”

“John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr.”

————

“Are you sure about this, Kei? I didn’t even ask if you could come,” Koutarou wrung his hands as the two took the short walk towards Keiji’s house. It was Wednesday night, Tetsurou and Kenma were babysitting Hiro, and Kei was accompanying him for the book club.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Kou,” Kei assured, switching the wine bottle he was holding from one hand to the other. “Besides, Tetsu wasn’t sure you’d actually go if one of us didn’t go with you.”

Koutarou scoffed but didn’t say anything else, instead focusing on adjusting his shirt. He’d decided to opt for comfort over anything, seeing as Keiji didn’t give him a dress code. So he wore a fitted long sleeve shirt and jeans that hugged his legs. Unfortunately, he’d been in a rush once he’d gotten home from work, so after his shower, Koutarou just let his hair air dry, so it just hung limply in his face.

“I’ve never seen you look this nervous before,” Kei added, glancing over at Koutarou. “Is it because it’s an intellectual club?” Koutarou shot him a glare, and Kei snorted, but continued. “Or is it because you think your neighbor’s a cutie patootie?”

“Wha! No— I don’t know what you’re talking about, shut up,” Koutarou grumbled, looking away as he knocked on Keiji’s door. They heard some commotion and laughter on the other side of the door, and just as Kei and Koutarou shot a glance at one another, the door was whipped open. A man Koutarou had never seen before had opened the door, but Keiji was quick to shove him out of the way.

“K-Koutarou! Hey!” Keiji said just a smidge too loud, and based on the blush that he wore high on his cheeks, Koutarou could tell he had already been drinking.

“Hey, Keiji. I hope we’re not too late. Oh! I brought Kei with me too, I hope that’s okay,” Koutarou stammered, none of his brain processes working since Keiji came into view. He was so beautiful with the dim light of the house illuminating around him, and Koutarou couldn’t think of anything else.

“Nope, right on time! I like your hair, by the way,” Keiji complimented, leaning backwards to let Kei and Koutarou in. He took the wine that Kei offered him with a grateful smile. “Thank you! This is actually my favorite, how’d you know?”

“Just a guess,” Kei smiled politely, and then he joined Koutarou at the front of the room, assessing the scene before them.

There was a large L-shaped couch that caged in a coffee table, and then two overstuffed armchairs on either side. The only light came from two lamps on either side of the room, and several candles scattered on the table, which probably explained why the house smelled like vanilla.

“Everyone introduce yourselves so I don’t have to!” Keiji called from the kitchen, and Koutarou couldn’t hide the smile he got from that.

The man that had originally answered the door stood up first and reached his hand forward for Koutarou to shake. “I’m Tooru, I’m the music teacher at Wildflower Elementary.”

“Oh!” Koutarou smiled back, shaking his hand before Tooru moved on to extend the same courtesy to Kei. “You might know my son, he goes there. Hiroaki Bokuto?”

“Oh, Hiro! Aw, I love him, he’s such a sweetheart!” Tooru cooed, and the man that was sat next to him bounded up with a bright grin.

  
“Hiro’s in my class! I’m Shouyou, I’m the kindergarten teacher! It’s so nice to finally meet you!” The redhead wrapped both his hands around Koutarou’s and shook it strongly. “Hiro talks about his dad all the time!”

Koutarou blushed lightly and rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand, but he shook Shouyou’s hand back. “He really loves going to school there, I’m glad he has such kind teachers.”

“Don’t forget me,” the final man stood, whining teasingly. He shook Koutarou’s hand next, continuing. “I’m Koushi Sugawara, I’m the librarian.”

“Wow, all of you work at the elementary school then?” Kei spoke, more of an affirming statement than a question. “It’s nice that you all get together outside school. D’you ever talk shit about the kids?”

Koutarou glared at Kei, but Koushi and Tooru just laughed. “Ah, sometimes,” Tooru said with a wave of his hand. “But not normally. Only if we have something specifically terrible to say.”

“Ugh, like that kid that got to second base with me?” Keiji interjected as he walked into the room, holding two wine glasses that he held out for Kei and Koutarou to take. “That was the worst.”

He gestured for the newcomers to take a seat as he curled up on the edge of the couch. Tooru and Koushi had claimed the armchairs, and Kei sat next to Shouyou, so Koutarou took the empty space next to Keiji. The man smiled warmly at Koutarou and tossed the blanket from his lap to cover Koutarou as well.

“I think my worst story was when a kid tried to fit a harmonic in his mouth. Like… A whole ass harmonica,” Tooru shivered at the thought, and Keiji giggled. Koutarou replayed the sound in his head, unsure if it was actually a laugh from a man or an angel.

“What about you?” Kei prompted Shouyou, a teasing grin already making a way onto his face as the redhead’s face flushed.

“Oh! N-Nothing’s happened to me, really,” Shouyou mumbled, looking away and not looking innocent at all.

“Remember the time Shouyou thought that a parent of one of his students was just being _extremely_ nice to him, but it turns out that he was trying to flirt?” Koushi spoke up then, offhandedly, and he earned a throw pillow to the face courtesy of Shouyou.

“Shut up! I didn’t know!” The redhead screeched, and the rest of the men laughed at his embarrassment.

“That’s okay, Shouyou,” Koutarou tried to calm him down. “Kei here thought that his best friend was in love with him for years and was too awkward to talk about it. How did that story end up again, Kei?”

Shooting daggers at Koutarou, Kei mumbled out, “He was crushing on my older brother the whole time.”

“Ooh, that’s rough,” Tooru winced, but Koutarou and Keiji laughed amongst themselves as they continued sipping their wine.

“Oh yeah? Well Koutarou was dared by our boss to wear heels for a full day at work.”

“Am I supposed to be embarrassed by that, Kei? I fucking killed it!” Koutarou declared, grinning as Keiji’s giggles increased tenfold.

“Oh my God, I have to see that sometime!” Keiji sputtered out between breaths, using his free hand to clutch at his stomach.

“Oho, into kinky shit, eh Keijj?” Koutarou teased, only realizing what he said after the words had already left his mouth.

But before he could be horrified at his lack of a filter, Keiji just snorted and responded, “Kou, you’re not _ready_ for what I’m into.”

Koutarou internally tried to blame the warmth of the blanket he was under to explain the heat in his face. He could see Kei snicker in his peripheral vision, but before anyone could say anything else, Keiji just smirked and continued.

“Now, we’re here to discuss The Scarlet Letter, aren’t we? Any takers to talk first?”

“I didn’t like it,” Shouyou admitted, shrugging his shoulders noncommittally. “It was too hard to get into.”

“That’s because you’re used to Dr. Seuss books, Shou,” Koushi teased.

“Nuh uh! This was like 17th century shit, I’m not into that,” he waved his hand at the insinuation, scrunching his nose. “Plus, it gives me an icky feeling.”

“Elaborate,” Tooru prompted.

“It’s all about how bad people are, I don’t like it.”

“But isn’t that the point of the novel?” Kei argued, crossing his legs and taking a sip of his wine. “It’s about how immoral humanity is because we’re all sinful, blah blah blah. I don’t agree with it, but I see the point it’s trying to make. It’s too churchy for me, but I get it.”

“I dunno,” Koutarou injected. “I like to think that everybody has a little bit of goodness in them, even if it’s not always surface-level. You weren’t too nice to me when we first met, Kei. But now I can see the goodness in your heart.”

Kei dramatically put a hand over chest, and said drily, “My hero.”

“I agree with Kei,” Tooru said, looking at his nails as he addressed the group. “It’s too churchy and against sex for fun — don’t look at me like that Keiji, we all enjoy sex, admit it — but it _has_ to give you some kind of hatred towards humanity. The whole town was against Hester, for God’s sake!”

“But how does she eventually gain a victory over them? With her consistent acts of goodness!” Koutarou argued, a small smile forming on his face. “Besides, she’s, like, super strong. She has the kid out of wedlock and basically says ‘fuck you’ to her naysayers, and leaves her abusive husband? Hell yeah!”

Keiji nodded along while he spoke, taking sips of his wine before reaching over to set the now-empty glass on the table. “I agree with Koutarou.”

“I’d expect nothing less from you two cuddle buddies over there,” Koushi teased, and only then did Koutarou notice it.

He and Keiji had gravitated closer and closer as the conversation wore on until their entire sides were pressed flush against one another’s. Koutarou could feel the heat from Keiji’s skin prickle against his own, and he just hoped to any God that was listening that he wouldn’t sweat on this angelic man. Keiji didn’t seem perturbed by this revelation at all, so Koutarou tried to keep a straight face and act the same.

“Well, there’s a reason it was banned in the first place,” Koushi shrugged, continuing their conversation.

“Oh! Didn’t you see they banned Captain Underpants? How lame is that!” Shouyou griped, and Koutarou didn’t miss the smile that Kei tried to hide behind his hand.

“Only you would find that upsetting, Shou,” Tooru sighed. “Those books are so vulgar.”

“They’re funny!”

“James and the Giant Peach was banned in a school like twenty years ago because there was a depiction of a spider licking her lips, and the teachers were afraid it was too sexual for the children,” Koutarou blurted out.

The room was silent for a split second before it pealed with laughter, and Koutarou felt the tension leave his chest.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, rubbing at his neck. “Sometimes I get excited when I have something to add to a conversation, even if that something is a weird trivia fact.”

“Never apologize for that,” Keiji smiled warmly. “If your worst trait is that you entertain people with interesting and informative fun facts, then you’re a perfect guy.”

This time, Koutarou couldn’t blame his blush on the warmth in the house. The night continued like that, with everyone throwing in their opinions, Kei’s and Shouyou’s teasing remarks, and Koutarou’s interjections. It was more fun that Koutarou could remember having for a long, long time. However, his mind was focused on the fact that Keiji remained pressed against him the whole night, as well as the sparks he was _sure_ he felt when their hands brushed each other. Keiji snorted, effectively pulling Koutarou away from his thoughts once more.

“W-wait,” he laughed, his nose scrunching up cutely. “Wait, so you’re telling me that James Franco sold a sculpture for $10,000…”

“But it was a ‘non-visible’ sculpture!” Koutarou finished for him, seeing as Keiji couldn’t stop laughing long enough to speak. “He got ten grand for essentially air!”

“Who the fuck just has ten grand to blow on _nothing_?” Tooru wondered aloud, looking astonished.

Koutarou wasn’t exactly sure how they’d gotten on this topic, but he was having fun nonetheless, especially since he was getting good use of his useless fact knowledge.

“I’m still reeling about how there’s an official number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop,” Shouyou marveled, his gaze mystified, like Koutarou had told him the secret to the universe. “I mean, the commercial makes it sound impossible to find out! How did they come to a number like 364?”

“Well, there was a university student who wanted to test it, so he made a licking machine—“ Koutarou started.

“I don’t want to know any more than that — a _licking machine_?” Koushi repeated, bewildered.

“You’d think that they could find literally any other use for a _licking machine_ than to lick a damn lollipop,” Tooru grumbled, reaching forward to grab his empty wine glass. “Anybody else need refills?”

“Oh, I’ll get them!” Keiji jumped up, waving off Tooru’s objections. “What kind of host would I be if I didn’t?” So he collected everyone’s empty glasses and scurried deeper into the house, presumably into the kitchen.

“So, Koutarou,” Shouyou drawled, looking at him with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Aside from Kei, the remaining three men seemed to turn their attention towards Koutarou with dark expressions.

“What do you think of our dear friend Keiji?” Tooru asked first, scratching his chin.

“Keiji?” Koutarou repeated dumbly, taken aback by the sharp turn in conversation. “I-I think he’s extremely nice…?”

“I’ll cut to the chase,” Tooru interrupted, waving his hand. “Keiji seems to like you, and from what I can tell, you seem like a nice guy. But we’re Keiji’s _best_ friends, so if you hurt him then I promise you _will_ be having a hard time, got it?”

“Woah woah,” Koutarou held his hands up, shaking his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, honestly. We’ve only met a couple times, and this is the first time we’ve even spent an extended amount of time together! How can you even say he likes me when we barely know each other?”

“Shut up, Kou,” Kei grumbled, earning a glare from the man. “I see the way you look at him! It’s like you guys were eye-fucking the whole night — don’t look at me like that, it’s true!”

“And that’s okay!” Shouyou quickly interjected, bouncing in his seat. “Keiji hasn’t had anybody he clearly liked for a long time, so we just wanted to make sure you were on the same page!”

“I mean… I don’t know him very well, but I mean…” Koutarou mumbled, sinking himself further into the couch, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to dump all of this on you,” Koushi murmured from his spot, looking at Koutarou apologetically. “We’re just very protective of him, if you couldn’t already tell.”

“I can’t promise that anything will happen between Keiji and I because, like I said, we don’t know each other very well… But it’s not like I would ever hurt him if things did happen,” Koutarou drawled.

At that point, Keiji came back in with a warm smile, balancing everyone’s glasses on a tray. “Alright, where were we?”

They all spent the following hour discussing other books they could read for the next month’s book club, settling on The Handmaid’s Tale because Koushi ‘wanted to know what the fuss was all about.’ Kei kept glancing at Koutarou for the remainder of the night, but Koutarou kept his eyes trained on his glass of wine, nursing it and mainly keeping to himself. It wasn’t until they had wished everyone a goodnight, Koutarou saying that he needed to get home before it was too late, that he decided to speak up again.

“Kei?”

“Yes?

“I think I like Keiji. He’s funny, and he’s nice to me.”

“I can feel you overthinking.”

“I just… I have Hiro—“

“Koutarou, listen to me very carefully,” Kei turned to face Koutarou as they stood on his own front porch. “Having a child does not mean that you can’t have a life. You have to be more considerate of his feelings, sure. You don’t want to bring around someone and have him get attached just for that person to leave again. He does need stability. But guess what? _You’re_ stable. You’re never leaving that kid, and that’s all he needs. _You’re_ all he needs. But you have needs too, Kou.”

“But I hardly know the dude! We met like two seconds ago, why do I feel so… _Gwah_?” Koutarou rubbed at his stomach as he thought about Keiji — his smile, the sparkle in his eyes, the way he lit up every time Koutarou spoke…

“That means you like him, dumbass. And from what I could tell tonight, he liked you too. He was basically straddling you at the end of it, remember?”

“Oho, I remember all too clearly,” Koutarou groaned, rubbing his hands harshly against his face.

“You deserve to be happy,” Kei said simply, his brows furrowed as he tried to drill that fact into Koutarou’s brain. “You took all of this on when you were super young, and I really fucking admire you for that. But you’re getting close to thirty now, Hiro’s in school… You can focus on yourself. You _deserve_ something good for yourself, Koutarou. I mean it.”

Tears pricked Koutarou’s eyes, and he tried desperately to blink them away. He couldn’t find the words to thank his friend, so he did the only other thing he knew how to do: he tackled him in a bone-crushing hug.

“K-Kou,” Kei struggled to breathe, but patted Koutarou’s back nonetheless. “I love you too, but I kinda need oxygen to enter my lungs or I won’t, y’know… Live anymore.”

After a while, Koutarou released him and watched to make sure he made it to his car. Then he went inside to relieve Tetsurou and Kenma from their duties, but they had fallen asleep on the couch, so he left them there, only after covering them with a blanket. He peeked in on Hiro, who was fast asleep, and Koutarou decided to follow suit. As he prepared himself for bed — brushing his teeth, putting on pajamas, and the like — Koutarou couldn’t help but smile.

He _did_ deserve to be happy; and if Keiji was the way to that happiness, he’d do anything to win him over.


End file.
